Sake cup, one of a set of ten titled “Wakohai”

Maker(s)
Artist: Kawai Einosuke 河合栄之助 (d. 1962)
Historical period(s)
Showa era, 1953-1954
Medium
Stoneware with white slip and cobalt pigment under clear glaze
Dimensions
H x Diam: 3.2 x 5.6 cm (1 1/4 x 2 3/16 in)
Geography
Japan, Kyoto prefecture, Kyoto
Credit Line
Anonymous gift
Collection
Arthur M. Sackler Collection
Accession Number
S1995.95.1
On View Location
Currently not on view
Classification(s)
Ceramic, Vessel
Type

Sake cup (choko)

Keywords
Japan, sake, Showa era (1926 - 1989), stoneware
Provenance

From 1954 to 1995
Private collector, acquired in 1954 [1]

From 1995
Arthur M. Sackler Gallery, given by a private collector in 1995

Notes:

[1] The set was given to the donor in 1954 (according to Provenance Remark 1, L.A. Cort, February 21, 1995, in the object record and according to Curatorial Remark 1, Remark 1, L.A. Cort, February 21, 1995, in the object record).

Previous Owner(s) and Custodian(s)

Frederick and Hsiao-lan Mote

Label

This cup is from a set which consists of ten sake cups made by ten Kyoto ceramic artists and boxed together in a wooden box signed by all the artists.  The artists were the leading potters of their day.  All were born around 1900; in 1953-54, when this set of ten cups was created, they were nearing the heights of their careers.  The set is important for its illumination of a different, more intimate side of the Kyoto craftsman's world than can be seen in a single large-scale work by one artist.  Each cup is executed like a minature tea bowl in a style closely associated with the artist's mature work.  The miniature bowls show off the meticulous workmanship in throwing and trimming that was (and to a considerable extent still is) the hallmark of the Kyoto potter, whether anonymous studio worker or star as these men were.  While more remains to be discovered about the precise motivation behind the creation of the set, this sort of joint production is not unknown in Kyoto (especially on commemorative occasions).

Collection Area(s)
Japanese Art
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